PM shields riot police

Karamanlis says public order minister is safe, puts blame on protesters

Rioters returned to central Athens yesterday evening as the prime minister gave his backing to Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras despite criticism about the way the police had handled student protests this week.

Karamanlis said there was “no question” of Polydoras being sacked. Opposition parties had called for him to step down after violent clashes that were more extreme than usual in central Athens on Thursday as protesters set fire to a guard post in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, burned banks and damaged stores and hotels.

The prime minister labeled the scenes as “fascist phenomena.”

“Some people seem to think that the state belongs to them,” said the prime minister. “They are the minority that does not respect democracy. The state belongs... to its citizens who are trying to improve their lives by working hard.”

Alternate government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros defended the police’s decision on Thursday not to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, saying that it had not been guarded “for many decades.” However, TV footage showed riot police had been place in front of the monument during some of the previous student protests.

The head of the Attica Police Employees’ Union, Yiannis Makris, told Kathimerini that officers had been given specific orders not to react to attacks from protesters.

Prosecutor Eleni Riakou yesterday issued criminal charges of breaking the law on explosives, illegal possession of weapons and causing grievous bodily harm against 12 people arrested on Thursday.

Another 49 people have been charged with misdemeanors, including breaching the peace and forming a gang.

A number of rioters last night emerged onto Panepistimiou Street and destroyed security cameras and threw rocks at police.

University teachers and students considered continuing their three-month protest against education reforms but will take a final decision on Monday.